CDS has capped a hugely successful year with the completion of our second major expansion in less than four years.
Our order book swelled in 2014, which led to the need for larger operational premises as well as an increased intake to our apprenticeship programme.
Construction work began on a new 10,000 square-feet state-of-the-art fabrication facility earlier this year and has increased operational space by 30 per cent.
Danny Laybourne, director at CDS, said: “The completion of the new fabrication facility marks a major milestone for CDS, and is something we are extremely proud of.
“The facility, which features two 10-tonne overhead cranes, office space, toilets, canteen and a new security office giving its 24-hour security team the facilities it requires, was completed in October and we are already seeing the benefits of the increased work space.
“The development represents a significant investment into the future of CDS, our staff and the energy services industry as a whole.”
The development comes hot on the heels of the opening of our original factory in 2010 and caps a fantastic year for us.
As well as expanding its operational space, we have also invested heavily in our future workforce by increasing the intake into our apprenticeship programme – we now boast 10 apprentices.
Danny said: “We are acutely aware of the need to invest in the future of our business and of the importance in investing in our future workforce. We have recently taken on three new apprentices and we hope that growth will continue in 2015 and beyond.
“To be in a position to expand both in terms of facilities and personnel so dramatically just four years after we opened our original factory is fantastic. It shows the work we are doing here is valued by existing and new clients as well as our staff.”
We have worked closely with our sub-contractors and construction is set to be completed by the end of September.
The decision to expand was taken after we secured a number of new contracts, including a major programme of works to replace two flare stacks and a bridge on the Tyra East and Tyra West platforms in the Danish sector of the North Sea, work which created 130 jobs.
Danny said: “Creating local jobs for young people looking to take their first steps into the industry is something we are very conscious of. We used local labor to build the new facility and we hope to be in a position to create further new jobs in the future.”